Avella, Pennsylvania

Avella is a dependent settlement and the seat of the administration of Independence Township , Washington County in the southwest of the US state Pennsylvania near the border with West Virginia .

In 1904 the Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway was opened by Avella and the mining of hard coal began on a large scale. The mines became unprofitable and closed around 1930. Passenger traffic was set in 1931, the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway now operates the route for freight traffic. Avella train station was restored in 2006 and is considered an architectural monument.

Avella is the seat of the school district of the same name and attracts students from the adjacent townships Jefferson and Cross Creek .

In the northwest of the village is the Meadowcroft Rock Shelter , an archaeological site with the oldest traces of human settlement in North America. It is part of the Museum of Rural Life and can be visited.

Coordinates: 40 ° 17 ′  N , 80 ° 28 ′  W